Broncos will host the Bucs this Sunday
The Denver Broncos will play at 4:05 PM this Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Broncos enter the game on fire and have been one of the best teams in the AFC. Peyton Manning could very realistically win the comeback player of the year award and MVP. The Tampa Bay Bucs will provide a formidable opponent however, and should not be taken lightly. They are a few players and plays short of a playoff record and are still fighting to try and gain a spot in the NFC postseason. The game will be played at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, which should play in the Broncos favor though.
The Broncos enter this week’s game with an 8-3 record. Their last game was a sloppy victory against the Kansas City Chiefs in Missouri. There, they won 17-9 to the usually soft Chiefs team. The Chiefs had just one a single game to that point, but really gave the Broncos a run for their money. Manning was not at his best, but certainly has shined all year long. It is amazing to think that he sat out the entire year last season.
The Buccaneers are coming off a heart-breaking 24-23 loss to the Atlanta Falcons at home. The Bucs gave Atlanta all they had and nearly escaped with the victory. The win would have been a huge exclamation point for the team that has caused many a headache for teams this season. They are certainly headed in the right direction under their new coach and may surprise Denver this week.
Texans will travel to Tennessee to take on the Titans
The 10-1 Houston Texans will travel to Tennessee to take on the Titans this week. The Titans and Texans have had 2 very different seasons, but the Titans are not a team to sleep on. The Texans also have a history of folding up especially around this time of year. Matt Schaub, and company, must show they are ready to take the next big step. They can not have another year where they lose a game they should win. This would be exactly that type of game, and if I was a betting man I would stear clear of this one given the history. The Titans do come into the contest with just a 4-7 record. The game will kickoff at 1 PM ET at Tennessee’s LP Field.
Houston barely scraped by in Detroit last week against a porous Lions squad. The game ended 34-31 in Houston’s favor on Thanksgiving Day, but easily could have been a Houston loss. In the game Houston running back Justin Forsett was tackled before scoring a long touchdown run that went for about 60 plus yards. The play would have been reversed, but Detroit threw a challenge flag which is a penalty. The play was also unable to be looked at because the flag was thrown. Clearly this is a terrible rule, and it will probably change before this years playoffs. However, for that game it did count and did cost the Lions the game.
The Titans can provide a very good matchup as well and can be a tough place to play for opposing teams. We will surely see if Houston is beginning their slide or if they are ready to make sure a game like last weeks does not occur again.
Will the 49ers see another tie this week?
The 8-2-1 San Francisco 49ers will travel to Edward Jones Dome in Missouri to take on the Rams this week. The last time these two teams met, they ended in a tie contest. That happened in week ten in San Francisco. In that game, 49er quarterback Alex Smith got knocked out with a concussion. He has yet to see the field after that hit and will not see it again this week. This is not due to lingering concussion symptoms, but rather a lingering backup quarterback who has outplayed Smith in just 2 games.
The 49ers Colin Kaepernick replaced Smith in the Rams game, but was unable to get a victory. The week after he was on fire and made every throw while also using his legs when needed. The outing caused an immediate quarterback controversy, and Coach Jim Harbaugh was quick to let the media know he was unsure of who he would be playing. The following week Smith was cleared to play, but on the Saturday night before the 49ers contest, Harbaugh announced to the team that Kaepernick would start. Kaepernick once again looked great and this past Wednesday he was announced starter for this week’s game against the Rams.
The Rams will look to give the 49ers another hard time Sunday, and will be at home which could help. The team is 4-6-1 so far this year, but has been in many names. Under new coach Jeff Fisher, the team has had a strong defense that has kept them in many a game. This week you can expect they may give Kaepernick some trouble, which is the last the 49ers would want to see as the quarterback drama would grow out of control. We shall all see this Sunday.
The battle between 2 bad teams...
Two hapless 4-7 teams will meet this Sunday to see who can be the worst of the already bad. This will occur at 1 PM ET at Metlife Stadium in New York when the Jets take on the Cardinals. Both teams have had very different seasons, but both have been equally awful. The Jets made the most talked about offseason acquisition when they got Tebow from the Broncos. That has so far been a bust, but not as bad as the offensive line of the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals started off 4-0, but quickly they went on their current 7 game losing streak.
Last week the Jets were blown out of the water by the Patriots who embarrassed them. Rex Ryan certainly should have the hottest seat in the NFL. His team has gradually gotten worse and worse while his weight got better and better. It almost seems like he lost some intensity and football smarts as he lost pounds. The team has not been plagued by injuries, but did lose their best defender in Darrell Revis. Otherwise, the team had high hopes and was a favorite by many to make the playoffs.
Arizona, on the other hand, had no high hopes. They did end up getting off to a great start, but quickly reality came to slap them in the face. Slap them it did, when they began to let sack after sack happen as both their starters went down. Ken Wisenhunt is now on his third quarterback, but more importantly, could be another coach facing the hot seat. Either way you slice it, this week’s game could be for a job.
Patriots will head to Miami this Sunday
The 8-3 New England Patriots will travel to sunny Florida to take on the Miami Dolphins this Sunday. The Dolphins currently are 5-6 behind rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill has surprised many with his good first season and has put his team in a position to at least be relevant. The Dolphins have had a surprisingly decent history with the Patriots especially in home games, which will make this game somewhat interesting. Both teams are coming off victories as well. This week’s game will be played at Miami’s Sun Life Stadium at 1 PM ET.
Last week the Patriots crushed the Jets 49-19 in what was the most embarrassing game of the Jets pathetic season. The Patriots scored in every aspect including defense and special teams. The Pats have been as hot as any team, and have scored 108 points in their last 2 games. They have actually not lost since a week 6 in a 1 point loss to the Seahawks in Seattle. Oddly enough, The Seahawks just faced Miami last week but in not so similar an ending.
It was the Dolphins who were able to get a 24-21 victory over the Seahawks last Sunday in Miami. The Dolphins scored 17 points in the 4th quarter to come back and pick up a win. Tannehill threw for 253 yards and a touchdown. The team will have to score much more than 24 if they plan to beat a team like the Patriots who are scoring at will. They spare no expense on points and are quick to bury teams that even try to contend with them.
Bills will host the Jags in hope for a 5th win
The 4-7 Buffalo Bills will take on the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo. Buffalo is coming off a loss to the Colts last week in Indianapolis. The Jaguars are just 2-9 on the season, but have nearly won 2 straight and did get a win at home last week. Both teams are not going to make the playoffs and will find themselves going for a high draft pick at the conclusion of the season, but this game will show what team is packing things up and which one will fight to the bitter end.
The Bills lost 20-13 last week against a Colts team that rarely loses at home. The Bills nearly single-handedly lost to Colt’s rookie T.Y. Hilton. Hilton had a kick return for a touchdown and a score from a Andrew Luck pass. The Bills had hoped to try and make a run as their schedule is getting easier down the stretch, but they can kiss any chance for the playoffs now. They should now look forward and see what exactly is needed to improve this team, which has a lot of promising pieces.
The Jaguars will present certain problems for the Bills especially from a defensive backs position. Chad Henne has played in the last couple games for the Jaguars and has looked more than impressive. Henne has already thrown for 830 yards and 7 touchdowns in his limited play. Gabbert, whom he replaced, has thrown nearly 3 times more passes than Henne with just 9 touchdowns to speak of. Henne will also be continuing to try and show the team that he should be the starter.
Bears hope for a win against the Seahawks
The 8-3 Chicago bears will look to continue to prove themselves this week against the Seattle Seahawks. The Bears are currently 8-3 on the season and are looking to further solidify a playoff spot for themselves. In order to do so, they will have to get past the 6-5 Seattle Seahawks who have an outside shot of the playoffs themselves. One thing that will be on the Bears side will be the venue, as the game will be played at Chicago’s Soldier Field. The game should be physical throughout and will have a 1 PM ET kickoff.
Last week, Chicago won big against the Minnesota Vikings in Jay Cutler’s return to the team. Cutler was returning from a concussion suffered in week 10 against the Houston Texans. His return went very well as he led the team to a resounding 28-10 victory. Cutler threw for just 188 yards and a touchdown in the game, but was 23-31 passing. He will see a defense in the Seahawks that have shown a huge upside, and will have to, once again, be careful with the football while managing the game.
The Seahawks went in the wrong direction last week with a loss to the Miami Dolphins in Florida. The Seahawks gave up 17 points in the 4th quarter, which ultimately cost them the game. The loss really hurt their playoff chances which looked very good at the start of the contest. The team still has shown troubles winning on the road while they can not be stopped at home. Sunday we will see if they can break that habit.
Houston continues to talk about Suh
Houston can not stop talking about Detroit Lions Defensive lineman Ndamukong Duh After this past Thanksgiving’s game in Detroit. That’s because the controversial lineman was involved in another on-field incident in the game, which saw him kick Texan’s quarterback Matt Schaub where the sun don’t shine. After being blocked down to the ground, Suh wildly kicked in Schaub’s direction and struck him right in the crotch. Last thanksgiving Suh found himself kicked out of the game and fined after a stomping of a Green Bay Packer lineman.
This latest incident was thought, by many, to probably get Suh some sort of suspension. What complicated issues was a lack of evidence in the case. It did appear that Suh could not see where exactly he was kicking, but it is well aware to everyone that he certainly tried to deliberately kick the Texans QB. Just a couple weeks earlier, Suh was voted the league’s dirtiest player by a group of his NFL peers that were surveys in the study.
It certainly seems like a matter of time before Suh will miss time for his on-field antics. It begs to ask the question of Suh’s emotional/ mental state. It is one thing to be aggressive and hit hard, but a totally different thing with the intent to hurt Suh has. You want to win and you want to inflict pain to opposing player in the scope of the game, but Suh seems like he has no care for anyone beyond himself, and offers very little explanation for these incidents.
Kaepernick will remain starting QB
The San Francisco 49ers have made their decision to go with Colin Kaepernick at quarterback, rather than Alex Smith. Coach Harbaugh announced Wednesday that Kaepernick will suit up this upcoming Sunday when the 49ers take on the St. Louis Rams in Missouri. Alex Smith was knocked out of action with a concussion nearly three weeks ago against the Rams when they played in San Francisco. The teams went on to tie that game.
Smith is surely over his concussion, and the decision was purely based on play. Smith has not struggled by any means this season, and has managed games extremely well. The changing of the guard simply seems to be because Kaepernick can do more then manage the games. Kaepernick have made all the throws from short touch passes to long darts. At the same time, he has shown the ability to not turn the ball over as well.
In comparison, the following is what the two quarterbacks have done up to this point. Smith has passed for 1731 yards and 13 touchdowns this season while throwing 5 interceptions. Kaepernick has already thrown for 680 yards and 3 touchdowns to this point with just 1 interception. Kaepernick has also rushed for over 200 yards and 4 scores. It is simple to see that Colin is a much better threat and can pose way more problems for opposing teams. Kaepernick surely make the team less one-dimensional then they have been in the past and could be many people’s clear favorite to make the Super Bowl. This is certainly a story to continue to monitor, as things could get dicey if Kaepernick struggles.
Scanning your artwork: The basics
There are a lot of reasons why you may want to scan your artwork. If you want to create a run of prints from a single original physical work, it will need to be scanned. Scanning is also a great way to archive your work in case of a disaster (like a fire).
And finally, if you want to share your artwork online, it is a lot easier to scan it versus trying to get a decent photograph. Between having to control the lighting, to rendering the colors properly, and making sure that the camera faces the artwork exactly head-on, a scanner is definitely the way to go if you can.